Parliament standing panel asks govt to give up N-deal

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May 02, 2008, 04.29 AM IST

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NEW DELHI: There is fresh pressure from Parliament for giving up the Indo-US nuclear deal. After a majority in Parliament opposed the agreement, a parliamentary panel has asked the government to keep in mind the ���sense of Parliament���.

Arguing in favour of a thrust on the indigenous three-stage programme, it said the agreement with the US has caused ���serious concerns��� about foreign policy and security-related issues.

The parliamentary standing committee on science and technology headed by V Maitreyan said that to gain self-sufficiency in the country���s requirement of nuclear fuel, the department of atomic energy has to make concerted efforts towards development of technology which uses thorium as fuel rather than uranium.

While India has large reserves of thorium, the use of uranium as source makes the country dependent on other countries and results in outgo of foreign exchange.

���The committee is of the opinion that the agreement with the US has to be looked at from the larger perspective of national security as well as national interest. While acknowledging the increasing energy requirements of the country, the thrust must be on the indigenous three-stage programme on which our scientists are working with great confidence and optimism,��� the report tabled in Parliament said.

It also said the concerns caused in the wake of the negotiations on the Indo-US nuclear deal had to be debated in Parliament several times and the ���sense of Parliament needed to be taken into consideration.��� The government was nearly isolated when the issue was discussed in both houses of Parliament with the entire Opposition, the Left and the UNPA opposing the deal.

The committee, which emphasised on the need to focus on indigenous programme, also expressed concern about the present remuneration being paid to scientists saying it was not attractive enough to draw the best of scientific talent available in the country.